Fereydan

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Fereydan is a region in Isfahan Province, Iran. It is home to the Fereydan Georgians, an ethnic Georgian group who live mainly in Fereydunshahr city and the Fereydan area.

Georgian migration to Iran began long ago, but a large community formed under Shah Abbas I after his campaigns in eastern Georgia between 1614 and 1617. After the campaigns, about 200,000 Georgians from Kakheti were banished to Isfahan province, including Fereydan, and other parts of Persia. They helped build bridges and improve farmland in the Fereydan valley. Over time, many Georgians in Iran adopted Persian culture and Islam, but most kept their language, which they call Pereidnuli and which is still mutually intelligible with East Georgian dialects. Today, there are more than 100,000 Fereydan Georgians, and the number of Georgians in Iran is much larger due to several migration waves from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Georgians are natives of Fereydunshahr County, Buin va Miandasht County, and Fereydan County.

Fereydan was also populated by Armenians who were brought there by Shah Abbas in 1603–1604 after the Nakhchivan deportations. The Armenian population in the region has declined. Historically Armenian-inhabited villages in Fereydan are in Fereydunshahr County, Buin va Miandasht County, and Fereydan County.

More than 340 historical sites have been found in Fereydan County, with 10 listed on the national heritage list. On January 3, the Head of Cultural Heritage in Fereydan announced the discovery of an underground city at the foot of Fereydan dating back to the Achaemenid era.